Gays praise long-awaited anti-bias law

Gays praise long-awaited anti-bias law

January 1, 2006
Copyright by The Chicago Sun-Times

BY ANNA JOHNSON

Tim Pierce hopes he never has to depend on a new state anti-discrimination law protecting gays and lesbians. But if he does, he's glad the protection is there.

The 39-year-old university instructor and his partner live in Oswego, a town about 40 miles west of Chicago and one of several in Illinois that didn't have laws protecting gays and lesbians. That is, until now.

Today, a state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity will become a reality, nearly a year after Gov. Blagojevich signed it into law and more than three decades since state lawmakers first debated it.

''I'm hoping people won't need to rely on the law,'' said Pierce, also president of a gay rights organization in Joliet. ''But in instances where someone is denied housing or a job, they have an avenue to take that they couldn't before.''

Illinois joins 16 other states that have laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

''Illinois is not a trendsetter, but it's not a right-winger,'' said Rick Garcia, political director for Equality Illinois, a gay rights group. ''We're not Massachusetts or California, but we're certainly not Alabama or Tennessee. . . . Illinoisans are reasonable people. We are cautious, but we want to do the right thing.''

Some opponents worry that the law will put Illinois on the path to legalizing gay marriage, a concern advocates dismiss.

Cities took the initiative

The battle to ban sexual-orientation discrimination in Illinois began in the mid-1970s, when the first bills were introduced in the Legislature.

Though bill after bill went by the wayside, communities began amending their own anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation. Champaign was the first in 1977, followed by Urbana, Chicago, eight other cities and Cook County.

Chicago-based Equality Illinois joined the fight in the early 1990s. It took more than a dozen more years for legislators to make it happen.

For Garcia, the battle has been long and frustrating, but he doesn't want to complain -- too much.

''It took 30 years for [the Legislature] to pass something as simple as protecting people on the basis of sexual orientation,'' Garcia said. ''On one hand, the Illinois General Assembly should be commended for recognizing all Illinoisans should be treated the same. But on the other hand, what the hell took so long?''

AP